Thursday, May 13, 2010

A Bishop

Our Diocese has been filled with excitement, as one of our priests, Father Tim Doherty, has been named Bishop of Lafayette, IN. Father Doherty is a very humble, quiet, and prayerful man. To be sure he is not a Monk, but someone who has taken priesthood seriously. He will make a stellar Bishop.

In the Epistles, St Timothy calls upon bishops to be men of outstanding holiness, prayer, who have their own house in order. They need to be good with finances, and good managers. The bishop is the chief teacher and liturgist of the diocese. I remember an older aunt asking whether I wanted to be a bishop some day. I remember giving my definitive 'no.'

In today's Church, with the problems of sexual abuse, divisions amongst the laity and the clergy, and the post-modern self-relevance, it is mostly a challenge to be a bishop. In the very early Church most of the martyrs were bishops. Today the controversies tend to cause less death, but much pain and chaos. Moreso today there is the scrutiny of the public media. So that whatever decision a bishop makes is the discussion of the town square.

Certainly our prayers and well wishes will go with Father Dorherty. He is an outstanding man. Because he is a man of prayer, he will have a good foundation to stand on.